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It. Jldhesioeness. 

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AN 



EXAMINATION OF PHRENOLOGY; 



IN TWO LECTURES, 



DELIVERED TO THE STUDENTS OF THE COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, Dli 
TRICT OF COLUMBIA, FEBRUARY, 1837. 



Ey THOMAS SEWALL, M. D 

PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



WASHINGTON CITY: 

B. HOMANS, PRINTER. 

1837. 



■fcr" 



Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1837, by James W. Rowland* 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia. 



COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, D. C. 
February 28th, 1S37. 
Dear Sir: 

At a meeting of the Students of this College, the undersigned were 
appointed a Committee to tender you their sincere thanks for the able and in- 
teresting Lectures on Phrenology delivered by you, and respectfully to request 
their publication. 

With sentiments of esteem, we are, Sec. 

SOLON LINDSLEY, ^ 
J. A. SCHOOLF1ELD, 
A. BROADDUS, Jr. } Committee. 

A. J. STRINGFELLOW, 
THOMAS W. SYDNOR, J 
Thomas Sewall, M. D. 

Professor of Jlnatomy and Physiology, 

COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, 



City of Washington, March 1st, 1837. 
Gentlemen : 

The Lectures containing an examination of Phrenology, the 
publication of which you solicit, were first delivered, in substance, to the medi- 
cal class, in 1826. I was then requested to allow their publication, but declined. 
I now yield to your request, with the regret only, that I have not leisure, amidst 
the pressure of professional business, to prepare them for the press as 1 could 
wish, and especially that they cannot be accompanied by the specimens of crania 
and models, which were exhibited as means of illustration, at the time they were 
delivered. 

Very respectfully, your friend, 

THOMAS SEWALL. 
To S. Lindsley, J. A. Schoolfield, A. Broaddus, Jr., A. J. String- 
fellow, and T. W. Sydnor, Committee, <§rc. 



LECTURE I. 



Gentlemen, 

The object of the lectures which I am invited to 
deliver will be an examination of Phrenology, a science 
which, though of recent date, has spread with great 
rapidity, and is at this time exciting a general and 
strong interest in the scientific circles of Europe and 
this country. 

The account which we have received of the origin 
and progress of this subject is singular and interesting. 

About half a century ago, Dr. Gall, an ingenious and 
eccentric Physician of Germany, was led as he says 
by observation, to the fact, that the various mental 
manifestations of different individuals, were accom- 
panied by a peculiar conformation of the cranium. — 
His attention was at first drawn to this subject by ob- 
serving while quite a youth, that each of his brothers 
and sisters, his schoolfellows and companions in play, 
possessed some peculiarity of talent or disposition, 
some aptitude or propensity, which distinguished them 
from others. One was modest, another haughty; this 
one frank, that deceitful ; this peaceable, that disputa- 
tious and quarrelsome. In their childish sports, he found 



some amused themselves by cutting figures in wood, 
or drawing them on paper, in painting, or the cultiva- 
tion ot a garden ; while others abandoned themselves 
to the noisy games, or traversed the woods in pursuit 
of flowers, birds nests, and butterflies. One was the 
carpenter of the house, and was always seen with tools 
in his hand ; and the greatest pleasure of another, on 
the contrary, was to assist at the mass, and to ring the 
church bells. 

They were equally diversified in their capacities for 
study. Some were distinguished for the beauty of 
their penmanship, some for their success in arithmetic, 
others for the talent of acquiring a knowledge of na- 
tural history, or of languages. The composition of 
one was remarkable for elegance, while the style of 
another was stiff and dry ; a third connected his reason- 
ing in the closest manner, and clothed his arguments 
in the most forcible language. 

In the course of his observations, he found that some 
of his school fellows were distinguished for accuracy 
and power of memory, and that those thus gifted had 
prominent eyes. 

He soon came to the conclusion that if memory for 
words was connected with an external sign, the same 
might be the case with other intellectual powers ; and 
from this moment, he says, every individual, distinguish- 
ed for any peculiarity, became the object of his attention 
and study. Great musicians, great poets, great paint- 
ers, great mathematicians, were carefully examined by 
him, and their characters investigated. 

And while he noticed this coincidence between the 
external form of the head and the character of the 
mind, he tells us that he referred the whole influence, 
whatever it was, to the brain, and not to the bony case- 
ment which surrounds it. 



Thus furnished with so many proofs of the coinci- 
dence between the development of different parts of 
the brain, and the display of the moral and intellectu- 
al character of man, he was compelled to renounce the 
obscure and incomprehensible doctrines of the schools, 
and to apply himself to the study of the primitive fa- 
culties. To this end he visited hospitals and insane 
asylums, prisons, and the seats of justice ; was intro- 
duced to the courts of princes, to schools and colleges, 
and wherever he heard of an individual, distinguished 
in any way for remarkable endowments, or for deficien- 
cy, he observed and studied the developments of his 
head. 

In 1796, Gall, for the first time, gave a course of 
lectures upon phrenology at Vienna, the place of his 
residence. These he continued annually for five years ; 
when the Austrian Government issued an order in 
January, 1802, that they should cease; his doctrines 
being considered as leading to materialism, and to be 
dangerous to the cause of morality and religion. The 
subject, however, continued to be studied with greater 
zeal than before ; the prohibition having strongly sti- 
mulated public curiosity, and Gall, finding his success 
in propagating his new theory, and in raising up friends 
to its support, greater than was anticipated, in 1804 he 
associated with him his favourite pupil, Spurzheim. 
From this time they were constantly together, and their 
labours were in common. 

In March, 1805, Gall and Spurzheim left Vienna in 
company, and travelled through Germany, Prussia, and 
Switzerland, to France ; visiting most of the considera- 
ble townsjand villages, and every where teaching their 
doctrines, and studying the organization of man. But 
they stopped only a short time in any one place ; too 
short a time, says Gall, to form practical pupils. " The 



8 

principles were explained, the developments shown, 
and we were off." Dr. Gall even gave the advice not 
to repeat the experiments, since it was difficult to do so. 

It was at Berlin, and the fortress of Spandau, where 
they first put their doctrine to the test of experiment, by 
its application to congregated multitudes. Here, in 
the presence of the chiefs of the establishment and 
others, they were conducted to the prison at Berlin, 
where upwards of two hundred culprits, of whom they 
had never heard till that moment, to whose crimes 
and dispositions they were total strangers, were sub- 
mitted to their inspection. Dr. Gall, it is said, not only 
discovered with surprising readiness, their natural 
propensities, but also indicated the offence for which 
each was imprisoned. A few days after, they made a 
visit to Spandau, where four hundred and seventy heads 
were submitted to inspection, and with a similar 
result. 

In November, 1807, Gall, assisted by his zealous as- 
sociate, delivered his first course of lectures in Paris ; 
supported by a numerous collection of skulls, heads, 
and casts ; and by a multiplicity of physiological and 
pathological facts. Great was the ardor excited among 
the Parisians by their presence ; teaching, as they did, 
a new doctrine, and by which it was supposed they 
could tell men's fortunes by their heads. 

In 1808, Gall and Spurzheim presented a joint me- 
moir on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Brain, 
to the French Institute, which at that time was in its 
full glory, and one of the first scientific societies in 
Europe. The chief of the anatomical department was 
M. Cuvier, and the first member of this learned body 
to whom Drs. Gall and Spurzheim addressed them- 
selves. He received the German Doctors with polite- 
ness, attended their lectures, and witnessed their dissec- 
tions of the brain. 



A committee was appointed by the institute to report 
upon the memoir, consisting of Tenon, Portal, Sabba- 
tier, Pinel and Cuvier ; all men of known candour and 
ability. M. Cuvier drew up an elaborate report, con- 
taining within a short compass the whole substance of 
the memoir ; but while it was approved by the insti- 
tute, it was not such as to satisfy Gall and Spurzheim, 
or to inspire confidence in their views of the anatomy, 
and physiology of the brain. Some merit was award- 
ed to them for their method of dissecting the brain, and 
for some other improvements they had made ; but ma- 
ny of the discoveries, which they claimed as original, 
were traced to anatomists who had preceded them, 
and their main positions were regarded as extremely 
hypothetical. Such was the reception which phrenol- 
ogy met with from the French institute. 

In 1809, Gall and Spurzheim commenced publish- 
ing the great work entitled the Anatomy and Physiol- 
ogy of the nervous system in general, and of the brain 
in particular, icith observations upon the possibility of 
ascertaining several intellectual and moral dispositions 
of man, and animals, by the configuration of their 
heads — 4 volumes folio, with an arias of one hundred 
plates, the completion of which occupied ten years. 

In 1813, they separated, and from this time each 
pursued his phrenological investigations by himself. — 
Dr. Gall made Paris his home, and acquired great no- 
toriety, considerable distinction as a writer and philos- 
opher, and realised a handsome fortune. He died in 
1S28, of a paralytic shock, in the seventy second year 
of his age. He was followed to the place of inter- 
ment by an immense concourse of friends and admi- 
rers, five of whom pronounced discourses at his grave. 
His death gave rise to a succession of eulogiums and 
of attacks in the French newspapers. 
2 



io 

Spurzheim, while he considered France his resi- 
dence, travelled extensively through Germany, Switz- 
erland, Prussia, England, Scotland, and Ireland, mak- 
ing observations, teaching phrenology, and collecting 
facts. 

He returned to Paris to reside in 1817, where he 
regularly gave two courses of lectures upon phrenolo- 
gy annually ; but complained that during his absence, 
the subject had in a great measure been laid aside and 
forgotten. In 1824, he married a lady of fine talents 
and accomplishments, who entered deeply into the 
spirit of his enterprise. This event seems to have 
given a fresh impulse to his investigations, and to have 
inspired him with increased zeal in extending the in- 
fluence of phrenology. 

In 1832, Spurzheim visited the United States. His 
objects were to study the genius and character of our 
nation, and to establish and propagate the doctrines of 
phrenology. He landed in New York on the fourth 
day of August, and travelled almost immediately to 
Boston. Here he was received with all the respect 
and kindness for which the inhabitants of that ancient 
town are so distinguished in their treatment of 
strangers. He was conducted to the various public 
and private institutions of the city; was introduced to 
the literary and scientific personages of distinction, 
and every thing was done to render his stay agreeable, 
and to promote the objects of his visit. He was invit- 
ed to deliver lectures, to examine heads, and to ex- 
plain his doctrines. But he had scarcely entered up- 
on his career, when he was struck down by a fever, 
of which he died on the tenth of November, in the fif- 
ty sixth year of his age. His remains were interred 
at Mount Auburn, with every mark of respect, where 
a neat and beautiful monument has been erected to 



11 

his memory, by the generous and high-minded citi- 
zens of Boston. 

Long before the arrival of Spurzheim in this coun- 
try, his works, as well as those of Gall, had been 
extensively circulated and read ; and it is doubtful 
whether any country has given the subject of phre- 
nology a more respectful consideration than the Unit- 
ed States. Works have been written upon the sub- 
ject, societies have been formed, lectures delivered, 
and zealous and able advocates have been raised up to 
spread and defend its doctrines. At this time there 
is scarcely a town, or a village, in which its general 
principles are not more or less understood. 

The works of Gall and Spurzheim are numerous, 
and evince great industry and perseverance, deep re- 
search and reflection, and, aside from phrenology, con- 
tain a great deal of general information. Most of their 
books have been republished in the United States. 

Such is a brief sketch of the history of Phrenology, 
as furnished by Dr. Gall, and his friends. Whether 
he was the originator of the science, or derived his 
first intimations upon the subject from some pre- 
vious writers, is a question which I shall not discuss. 
Certain it is, that ideas, in many respects similar to 
those of Gall, were entertained and promulgated long 
before his time. 

Aristotle, the Grecian philosopher, who wrote more 
than three centuries before the Christian era, consid- 
ered the brain as a multiplex organ, and assigned to 
each part its appropriate functions. 

In the forepart of the cerebral structure, he places 
common sense ; the middle portion he assigns to imag- 
ination, judgment and reflection : the back part he 
makes the great store house, or seat of the memory. 

This was the account of the divisions of the brain, 



12 

given by Aristotle, and however crude it may appear 
in its details, it was followed by many writers in the 
middle ages, with but little variation. But while he 
regarded the brain as multiplex, he considered a small 
head as the standard of perfection, and contends that 
it is indicative of a superior intellect. In this respect 
he is at variance with Dr. Gall, and other phrenolo- 
gists of the present day. 

From various passages found in the works of Galen, 
it is evident that he was acquainted with the views of 
Aristotle upon this subject, and that he admitted the 
same doctrines, with some modifications. 

As late as 1296, Bernard Gordon, an eminent French 
physician and teacher at Montpelier, closely follows 
Aristotle in his divisions of the brain, and appropriat- 
ed to each part particular faculties. 

In the thirteenth century, Albert, the Great Arch- 
bishop of Ratisbon, one of those who had laboured long 
for the discovery of the philosopher's stone, actually 
formed a head, mapped out into regions in conformity 
with the divisions of the brain by Aristotle and others. 

In 1491, Peter Montagnana published an engraving of 
the head, in which he represents the seat of the sensus 
communis, a cellula imaginativa, a cellula cstimatwa seic 
cogitativa, a cellula memoratiua, and a cellula rationalis. 

Michael Servetus, who died at Geneva 1553, places 
the different mental faculties in different parts of the 
brain. He supposed that the two anterior cerebral cav- 
ities were for the images of external objects ; the third 
ventricle the seat of thought ; the aqueduct of Sylvius 
the seat of the soul ; and the fourth ventricle, the seat 
of the memory. 

In 1562, Ludovico Dolci, a learned Venetian, pub- 
lished a work upon preserving and strengthening the 
memory ; and in illustration of his principles,, he mapped 



13 

out a: head into regions, more elaborately than any one 
which had previously been formed. 

In a work of Jo. Baptistae Portse, an eminent Ne- 
apolitan philosopher and physician, published at Ley- 
den 1538, entitled De Humana Physiognomia, there is 
contained so many of the principles and illustrations of 
the phrenology of the present day, that it may well be 
questioned whether hints have not been drawn from 
this source by later writers. He proposes to discover 
the intellectual and moral character of man, by his 
physical organization, colour, etc., and while he em- 
braces the whole body, he lays particular stress upon 
the configuration of the head. He finds analogies be- 
tween the human species and several races of the 
brutes ; but discovers the general characteristics of man 
in the lion, and of woman in the leopard ; and con- 
cludes by arranging under appropriate heads, the va- 
rious signs by which the intellectual and moral char- 
acter and disposition of every individual may be de- 
termined. 

A folio edition of this work is found in the library 
of Harvard College, and contains a large number of 
plates of the heads of persons, placed by the side of 
those of certain animals, illustrative of his doctrines ■; 
a few copies of these I am enabled to exhibit to the 
class, through the kindness of Professor Greenleaf. 

As late as the middle of the seventeenth century, 
the celebrated Dr. Thomas Willis, a graduate and for 
some time a physician at Oxford, and afterwards phy- 
sician to King Charles II, published a work, in which 
he asserts that the corpora striata are the seat of per- 
ception ; the medullary part of the brain that of me- 
mory and imagination ; the corpus callosum that of re- 
flection ; and the cerebellum, he considers as furnish- 
ing the principle of voluntary motion. 



14 

But by far the nearest approach to modern phrenol- 
ogy was made by that extraordinary man, Baron 
Swedenborg, the author of the system of doctrines 
of the New Jerusalem church. He not only consid- 
ered the brain as composed of a plurality of organs, 
but maintained the principle that the exercise of the 
different faculties of the mind changes the configura- 
tion of the head, by promoting the development of 
their respective organs. The following extract will 
give an idea of his views upon this subject, and will 
show the authenticity of the source from which they 
are taken. 

Capt. F. Walden published at Copenhagen, in 1806, 
a biography of the celebrated Swedenborg, along with 
some extracts from his writings. It is very remarka- 
ble, as is shown by this work, that the distinguished 
Swede, about fifty years previous to Dr. GalPs theory, 
should have entertained a very similar opinion. The 
following are the words of Swedenborg : " Every man 
that is born has a disposition to all sorts of evil, which 
must be checked by education, and, as far as possible, 
rooted out. This is first to be attempted by correction 
and punishment ; then by good society and example, 
which lead to imitation ; and at last good is secured 
upou a true and reasonable religious root. When these 
conditions are all observed, it is indicated by the beau- 
tiful skull of the individual. On the contrary, should 
the education be neglected, or no sudden misfortune, 
nor opposition, hinder the first outbreakings of evil, or 
disorder, the evil afterwards becomes habit, and pro- 
duces peculiar wishes, both in design and practice, 
which cause the formation of a badly shaped skull. The 
cause of the difference of skulls, in such cases, is this : 
The peculiar distinctions of man, will and understand- 
ing, have their seats in the brain, which is excited by 



15 

the fleeting desires of the will, and the ideas of the in- 
tellect. Near the various spots where these irritations 
produce their effects, this or that part of the brain is 
called into a greater or less degree of activity, and forms 
along with itself corresponding parts of the skull." 

But I will not detain you with further details upon the 
history of the science. Those of you who may wish 
to pursue the investigation, will find the subject amply 
discussed by that erudite and able author, Professor 
Dunglison, in his admirable work on Human Physio- 
logy, in his account of the mental faculties. 

I will only remark, that the fact, that the early writers 
knew something of Phrenology, affords but slender 
proof that Dr. Gall borrowed his notions from them ; 
since it is extremely common for men of genius to 
make the same discoveries, strike out the same trains 
of thought, and pursue the same course of investiga- 
tion without concert, or the slightest knowledge of 
each other's pursuits. 

Whatever may be the truth with regard to the origin 
of Phrenology, it is through the writings of Dr. Gall, 
supported by the untiring labours and invincible zeal 
of his pupils and disciples, that the science has been 
widely spread through the civilized world. -And 
it is by these labours, and by this ceaseless spirit 
of exertion, that the subject has been brought to 
our shores, and has afforded the occasion to investi- 
gate it, and ascertain whether it furnishes us with that 
infallible guide in the study of human character, which 
has been pretended. 

It seems proper that we should investigate it, be- 
cause it has enlisted so many men of talents in its sup- 
port, and become a subject of so much interest as to 
excite discussion in almost every circle, and on every 
occasion ; and because, too, it is represented to be a 



16 

science, the knowledge of which is all important to the 
well-being of society. A science which its authors and 
disciples gravely tell us, looks down with compassion 
on the shallow distinctions, and puerile speculations of 
Locke, Hume, Berkley, Hartley, Reed and Stewart. 
These men tell us that up to their own time, the phi- 
losophy of man was a perfect waste, and that the dis- 
coveries of Newton himself were comparatively insig- 
nificant ; while that of Phrenology is the greatest and 
most important that was ever communicated to man. 

The discoveries, says Mr. Combe, of the revolution 
of the globe, and the circulation of the blood, were 
splendid displays of genius in their authors, and inter- 
esting and beneficial to mankind ; but their results com- 
pared with the consequences, which must inevitably 
follow from Dr. Gall's discovery of the functions of the 
brain, sink into relative insignificance. 

It may be well, therefore, that we should look into 
a science, which holds up these lofty pretensions, and 
ascertain how far it is entitled to confidence. 

My object on the present occasion, will be briefly to 
present to your view some of the leading principles of 
Phrenology, and then to ascertain how far these are 
sustained by the anatomical structure of the parts more 
immediately concerned. 

1. Phrenology, like most systems of mental Philoso- 
phy, makes the brain the material organ of the mind. 

2. It assumes the position, that just in proportion to 
the volume of the organ, other things being equal, will 
be the power of the mental manifestations. 

3. That the exercise of the mind promotes the de- 
velopment of the brain. 

4. That the character of the mind is to be determin- 
ed by the configuration of the brain. 

5. That the brain is a multiplex organ, and composed 



17 

of a definite number of compartments, or sub-organs, 
each of which is the appropriate seat of a propensity, 
sentiment, or intellectual faculty. 

6. That the mind consists of a definite number of 
original powers, which are divided into propensities, 
sentiments, and intellectual faculties. 

7. That to the existence of each original propensity, 
sentiment, or intellectual faculty, a specific cerebral 
organ is necessary, and that every specific mental ope- 
ration can be performed, only by means of an appro- 
priate organ. 

8. That the brain is composed of at least thirty-four 
phrenological organs, or pairs of organs, all commencing 
at the medulla oblongata, or top of the spinal marrow, 
and radiating to the surface of the brain. That they 
commence at a point, and like so many inverted cones, 
become more and more voluminous, until that portion 
which is bounded by the walls of the cranium, presents 
a surface corresponding in form, size, and situation, 
with the figured skulls, delineated in plate I., fig. 
i., ii., and in. 

9. That just in proportion to the development, or 
size of these organs, or cones, will be the strength of 
the particular faculty of which it is the residence. 
The size of the organs to be estimated by their length 
and breadth, and consequently that each prominence of 
the skull indicates the degree of development of that 
organ of the brain, which is located immediately under 
it, and of course the power of intellectual faculty, sen- 
timent, or passion, of which it is the residence. 

10. That the exercise of any particular faculty of 
the mind, promotes the development of the appro- 
priate organ of such faculty. 

It is upon the principles here laid down, that the 
whole system of Phrenology is based. 
3 



18 

" By a knowledge of Phrenology and Craniology," 
says a distinguished writer upon this subject, " the ex- 
perienced Phrenologist is enabled to judge oi the natu- 
ral amount^ and general character of the intellects of 
individuals, by an inspection of their heads. " 

In accordance with these principles, the cranium has 
been mapped out into thirty-four distinct territories, 
corresponding, as supposed, in position, form and size, 
with the bases of the different organs of the brain. 

When any one, or more, of these is so prominent as 
to rise above the neighboring parts of the skull, the 
organ which is immediately under it, is said to be full, 
and the faculty, of which it is the seat, proportionably 
strong and vigorous. 

These thirty-four organs have been grouped, so as to 
constitute three distinct families, as represented in Plate 
I., fig. i., ii., and in. ; one division for the propensities 
or passions, one for the moral sentiments, and a third for 
the intellectual faculties. The first group has been ap- 
propriated to the back and inferior region of the brain ; 
the second, to the superior portion ; and the third, to 
the anterior portion of this structure. 

Having thus presented to you a few of the leading 
principles of Phrenology, I shall, without detaining 
you longer, point out the position of the individual 
organs, and briefly sketch the leading characteristics of 
each of their respective functions, as described by phre- 
nologists. 

I. PROPENSITIES. 

I. AMATIVENESS. 

This organ is situated in the cerebellum, or the lower 
part of the occiput. When full, it gives a backward 
protrusion of the occipitis, and a thickness to the 



19 

upper part of the neck. Its function is sexual love. 
Numerous instances are given by Phrenologists, of the 
development of the 6rgan ; corresponding with the in- 
tensity of the function. 

2. PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

Situated at the occiput, immediately above Amative- 
ness, and corresponds with the occipital protuberance. 
Its function is the love of offspring. It is more fully de- 
veloped in women, than in men, and its development 
corresponds with the strength of the propensity. Of 
twenty-nine females who had been guilty of infanticide, 
it is said, that the development was defective in twenty- 
seven. When fully developed, it supports the mother 
in her toils, and even renders delightful the cares and 
troubles of rearing a helpless offspring. It is large in 
the Hindoo, the Negro and Charib skulls. 

3. CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

Situated immediately above Philoprogenitiveness, and 
below Self-esteem. Its function is to maintain two or 
more powers in simultaneous or combined activity, so 
that they may be directed towards one object. Where 
it is fully developed, persons possess a command over 
their feelings and intellectual powers, so as to be able to 
devote them in their whole vigor, to the pursuit which 
forms the object of their study, for the trine ; and hence 
they produce the greatest possible results. It is small 
in the American Indian, and large in the Negro and 
European. 

4. ADHESIVENESS. 

Situated on each side of Concentrativeness. The 
faculty produces the instinctive tendency to attach our- 



20 

selves to surrounding objects, animate and inanimate, and 
to embrace and cling to the object of our affection. It 
disposes to friendship, and society in general. It often 
shows itself in attachment to horses, dogs, and other 
animals. When largely developed, it produces exces- 
sive grief at the loss of friends, and in leaving one's 
country, the disease called Nostalgia, so common to the 
Swiss. When feeble, it may render a man an Ancho- 
rite or Hermit. 

5. COMBATIVEXESS. 

Situated on each side of the head, at the inferior mas- 
toid angle of the parietal bone. The organ, when full, 
produces active courage, and if very full, a propensity 
to attack. A considerable endowment is indispensable 
to a great and magnanimous character. It gives that 
boldness to the mind, which enables it to look undaunted 
on opposition, to meet, and if possible to overcome it. 
When largely developed, it inspires with the love of 
contention, leads to a quarrelsome disposition, and im- 
parts pleasure in disputation and fighting. When 
deficient, the individual cannot resist attacks, nor 
make his way, where he must invade the prejudices, 
or encounter the hostility of others. The organ is 
generally large in persons who have murdered, from 
the impulse of the moment. It is large in Robert 
Bruce, David Haggart, Mary Macinnes. It is large 
also in the Chai ibs, and small in most of the Hindoos. 

6. DESTRUCTIVEUESS. 

Situated immediately above, and extends a little back- 
ward and forward, from the external opening of the 
ear, and corresponds to the squamus plate of the tem- 
poral bone. The faculty produces the impulse to 
destroy in general, Combativeness gives the desire to 



21 

meet and overcome obstacles, and having vanquished 
them, the mind under this inspiration pursues them no 
farther. Destructiveness prompts to extermination. 
Anger and rage are the manifestations of this passion, 
and cruelty is the result of its excessive energy, un- 
controlled by benevolence and justice. In cool, de- 
liberate murderers, the organ is conspicuous, and in 
those who delight in cruelty. It is large in hunters, 
and keen sportsmen, without exception. It is large 
in the bust of Dean, Pallet, Thurtell, Keaman, and in 
the skulls of Bruce, Gordon, Hussey, Nisbet, Belling- 
ham, Buchanan, Rotherham, Albert, in the skull of 
Tardy, the pirate, and it is said to be very large in the 
head of a living Scotch divine of great celebrity, now 
residing in Edinburgh. 

7. CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

Situated immediately over, and adjoining Destructive- 
ness. When very fully developed it produces unusual 
breadth of the head, from temple to temple. The 
faculty inspires with the tendency to construct in gene- 
ral, but the particular direction in which it is exerted, 
depends on the other predominant faculties of the 
individual. If combined with large Combativeness and 
Destructiveness, it may be employed in fabricating im- 
plements of war. If joined with large Veneration, it 
may tend towards erecting places of religious worship. 
If joined with large Form, Imitation and Secretiveness, 
it may inspire with a love of portrait painting. The 
organ is indispensable to all who follow operative me- 
chanical professions. It is large in Raphael, Brunei, 
Herschel, and Perkins. It is small in the New-Hol- 
landers. It is large in all animals distinguished for 
their ingenuity in building, as the beaver, field-mouse, 
and the like. 



22 

S. ACQUISITIVENESS. 

Situated immediately behind Constructiveness. Its 
function is the love of acquisition generally, without 
reference to the use to which the objects, when attained, 
may be applied. It takes its direction from the other 
faculties, and hence may lead to the collecting of coins, 
minerals, and other objects of curiosity, or of science, 
as well as money. If men had always provided only 
what they could individually enjoy, they would never 
have emerged from a savage condition. It is the foun- 
dation of wealth, of covetousness, and of luxury, in 
civilized life. When largely developed, and not regu- 
lated by their higher faculties, it often leads to dishon- 
esty, and even theft. A chaplain in the Prussian army, 
in whom it was large, in other respects a worthy and 
pious man, was remarkable for stealing pocket-handker- 
chiefs, pen-knives, books, and ladies' stockings, and 
indeed every thing portable, in the nature oi property. 
It is large in Heaman, and small in Robert Bruce. 

9. SECRET1VENESS. 

Situated immediately above Destructiveness. Its func- 
tion is the love of secresy, and the ability to conceal. 
It may be applied in a great variety of ways, according 
to the dictate of the other faculties. When properly 
developed, it exercises a salutary restraint on the other 
faculties, and is indispensable to the formation of a 
prudent, cautious character. When largely developed, 
and not properly balanced by the higher faculties, it 
leads to management, lying, duplicity and deceit It 
has been found prominent in a large number of habitual 
thieves. When properly controlled, it augments the 
efficiency of character. In Courts and Cabinets, it is a 
powerful engine. It is the diplomatist's sword and 



23 

buckler. The fox, and several animals of the cat-kind, 
are remarkable for it. In some of the human race, it 
is almost their only power. In writing, it leads to 
irony. It is full in great actors. It gives a side-long 
glance, and a watchful look to the eye, and where 
large, inspires in the individual, the desire to dis- 
cover the designs of others, while he conceals his own. 
Is large in Raphael and Bruce, in the American In- 
dians, and in the Hindoos. 

II. SENTIMENTS. 

10. SELF-ESTEEM. 

Situated at the vertex under the sagital suture. Its 
function is Self-Esteem, or self-love in general. It 
imparts to the mind that degree of confidence in its 
own powers, which is essential to their successful ap- 
plication. When combined with the superior senti- 
ments, and intellectual faculties, it contributes to true 
dignity and greatness of mind. A deficiency of it pro- 
duces a want of personal confidence, and a proper 
estimate of what is due one's self. When too strong, it 
produces arrogance, conceit, pride, egotism and envy. 
The English have this organ fuller than the French. 
The turkey-cock, the peacock, and the horse have it 
strongly marked. When the organ is morbidly excited, 
as in some cases of monomania, the individual is prone 
to imagine himself a king, an emperor, a transcendent 
genius, and even the Supreme Being himself. It is 
large in Haggart, in Dempsey, and in the Hindoos, but 
small in the American Indians. 

11. LOVE OF APPROBATION. 

Situated on each side of Self-Esteem. Its function is 
love of approbation, or applause. If directed to ob- 



, 24 

jects of importance, it becomes a lofty and noble am- 
bition, and leads to corresponding efforts and achieve- 
ments; but when its objects are low and trivial, it de- 
generates into vanity, and leads to frivolity. It is more 
prominent in women, than in men. It is always large 
in bashful persons. It is very large in the dog, the 
horse, etc. Large in Bruce, and in the American 
Indian. 

12. CAUTIOUSNESS. 

Situated in front of No. 11. Its function is the senti- 
ment of circumspection, or impulse to take care. Regu- 
lated and sustained by the other faculties, this sentiment 
becomes prudence, but if not thus modified, it degene- 
rates into irresolution, instability, doubt, demur. It is 
particularly large in children. The organ is large in 
Bruce, Raphael, and in the Hindoo. Small in Belling- 
ham, and the Negro. 

13. BENEVOLENCE. 

Situated at the central and upper part of the frontal 
bone, in the direction of the sagital suture. Its 
function is the sentiment of kindness, connected with 
the desire of the happiness of others, and disposes to 
compassion, and to active benevolence. It communi- 
cates mildness and cheerfulness to the temper, and 
prompts to charity, in its various relations. Dogs, hor- 
ses, and monkeys, which have the organ full, are mild 
and pacific. It is depressed in all the ferocious tribes 
of animals, and also in nations remarkable for cruelty, 
as the Charibs. 

The five following organs are proper to man, and 
constitute the line of demarcation between him and 
the inferior animals. 



25 

14. VENERATION. 

Situated immediately behind, and adjoining Benevo- 
lence. Its function produces the sentiment of respect, 
and reverence of superior beings, either human or di- 
vine. It enters largely into the constitution of a devoted 
Antiquary. It is also the chief element in filial piety. 
When the organ is large, and Self-Esteem small, humi- 
lity is the result. Its existence shows that religion has 
a foundation in nature. The full development of the 
organ tends to produce baldness ; and it is asserted, that 
of any given number of men, of equal age, in a place 
of public worship, those who are bald are the most 
devout. They kneel lower, and respond louder than 
others. 

15. HOPE. 

Situated on each side of Veneration. Its function pro- 
duces the tendency to believe in the possibility of what 
the other faculties desire. It inspires with gay, fasci- 
nating and delightful emotions, painting futurity fair 
and smiling. It gilds and adorns every prospect with 
shades of enchanting excellence, while cautiousness 
hangs clouds and mists over distant objects. In 
religion, this faculty favours the exercise of faith, and 
disposes to a belief of a life to come. In short, it is 
the castle-builders' home, his heaven, his consolation 
in disappointment, his panacea for every evil. It is 
the cynosure to which his soul perpetually points. 

16. IDEALITY. 

Situated above 7 and 8. Its function is to give exqui- 
siteness of feeling. It is the fountain of enthusiasm, 
not only of the poet, but of the philosopher, the orator, 



26 

the painter, the sculptor, the philanthropist, and of the 
high-minded warrior. It is the organ of poetry, and 
confers a relish for poetry on those who do not write. 
It gives refinement and taste. It communicates to 
eloquence its splendor and soul, and to conversation its 
highest charms and brilliancy. It gives a fondness for 
vivid description, and often a tendency to exaggeration. 
The organ is large in Raphael, Voltaire, Wordsworth, 
Burke, and Haydon ; and is small in Hume, Belling- 
ham, and in the New-Kollanders. 

17. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

Situated behind No. 15. Its function is to give the 
sentiment of right and wrong, of unspotted justice, and 
pure morality. It commands the other faculties to the 
performance of their duty. Its strength is not always 
in proportion to that of the other faculties. In men 
of feeble intellect, it is sometimes very powerful ; 
6uch men do their duty, for conscience sake, and are 
delighted with the observance of right, and disgusted 
with the doing of wrong. When the organ is small, 
the individual is prone to do an unprincipled action, if 
tempted by interest or inclination. He experiences a 
difficulty in perceiving the quality of justice, and in feel- 
ing its obligations. The organ is large in Hette, and 
small in Bruce, Bellingham, and Gibson, and in most 
of the savage tribes. 

18. FIRMNESS. 

Situated at the upper and posterior part of the head, be- 
tween Nos. 10 and 14. Its function is to give firm- 
ness, constancy and perseverance. When powerfully 
developed, and not properly regulated by the other 
faculties, it produces obstinacy, stubbornness, and in- 



27 

fatuation. When weak, the individual is prone to 
yield to the impulse of his feelings. If benevolence 
assumes the sway, he is all kindness ; if combativeness 
and destructiveness are forcibly excited, he falls head- 
long into passion, outrage, and violence. He finds 
great difficulty in pursuing any established line of action, 
and is prone to change. The organ is large in Bruce, 
and in the American Indian, and small in Gibson. 

III. INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 

19. INDIVIDUALITY. 

Situated in the middle of the lower part of the fore- 
head. Its function is to give the faculty of practical 
observation, and the capacity to acquire knowledge in 
detached parcels, but not to put it well together. The 
possessor is full of matter for conversation and anec- 
dote, but is a mere detailer of facts, which he seldom 
attempts to classify. He is a man of extensive informa- 
tion, rather than a profound philosopher. When the 
organ is full, and is aided by Comparison, it leads to 
personification, and to metaphorical writing, such as 
distinguished Bunyan. The organ was large in Roscoe 
and Swift, and moderate in Voltaire and Haydon. 

20. FORM. 

Situated immediately under the root of the nose. Its 
full development gives breadth between the eyes. Its 
function is to give the faculty of distinguishing form 
and figure. It was large in King George III., and is 
also large in the Chinese, 



28 



21. SPACE. 

Situated above, and on each side of the root of the 
nose. Its function is the faculty to judge of size and 
space without reference to form. It imparts the power 
of perceiving and judging of perspective. It was 
large in Williams and Douglas, and small in Ferguson. 

22. WEIGHT, OR RESISTANCE. 

Situated contiguous to that of form. It is largely de- 
veloped in those who excel in archery and quoits, and 
in those who judge accurately of momentum and re- 
sistance in mechanics. It was large in Maclachlan. 

23. COLOR. 

Situated near the centre of each eye-brow, so that the 
full development of it gives to the brow a beautiful 
arch, or an angular direction upwards and laterally. 
Its function is to distinguish, enjoy and mix colors. It 
is found in the portraits of Rubens, Rembrandt, Lor- 
raine, etc. It is full in the Chinese. 

24. LOCALITY. 

Situated immediately above, and adjoining No. 21. 
Its function is a faculty to perceive, and judge of space 
and distance, and to remember and enjoy localities. It 
produces a fondness for travelling, and constitutes a 
chief element in the talent for topography, geography, 
astronomy, and landscape painting. It assists the tra- 
veller in finding his way to places he has visited, and 
gives to him an accurate, and vivid recollection of 
them. This organ is very prominent in the casts of 
Columbus, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, and in Volney, 



29 

and Sir Walter Scott. Is largely developed in the dog, 
and in other of the lower animals. 

25. ORDER. 

Situated adjoining 23. Its function is the perception 
and love of order, without regard to classical arrange- 
ment. Those who have the organ large, cannot bear 
to see any thing out of its place. They are neat and 
precise in the arrangement of their wardrobe, library, 
household furniture, etc. It is full in Humboldt. 

26. DURATION. 

Situated immediately above, and adjoining No. 23. Its 
function is a lively and accurate perception of abstract 
duration, and the lapse of time between one event and 
another. 

27. NUMBER. 

Situated immediately over the external angle of the eye. 
Its function is the power of calculation. It is full in 
the bust of Newton, and is large in the portraits of La 
Place and Humboldt. 

28. TUNE. 

Situated immediately above No. 27. Its function is 
the love and enjoyment of music. The organ, when 
strongly developed, gives breadth to the face ; hence 
high powers of music are rarely connected with a 
narrow face. The masks of Handel, Haydn, Gluck, 
and Mozart, are distinguished by the full development 
of this organ. The heads of certain singing birds are 
also strongly marked. 



20 

29. LANGUAGE. 

Situated immediately under the eyes, rendering those 
organs prominent when fully developed. Great lin- 
guists have generally prominent^ and never sunken eyes* 
Its function gives a facility of acquiring and using lan- 
guage. Persons who have a great endowment of it, 
abound in words. Large in Humboldt and Voltaire. 

30. COMPARISON. 

Situated immediately above 19. Its function is the 
power and love of Comparison, and it gives the facility of 
perceiving resemblances, similitudes and analogies. The 
individual, who has it large, reasons by comparing one 
thing with another. It prompts to the invention and use of 
figurative language. It gives great power of illustration. 
It is the origin of proverbs. Large in Pitt, Edwards, 
Burke, Curran, Hume, and in the Hindoos; small in 
the Charibs. 

31. CAUSALITY. 

Situated on each side of 30. Its function is a talent 
for logical reasoning, and inductive philosophy. It 
prompts to the investigation of causes and effects, and 
enables the individual to judge of the direct evidence 
of facts. A juryman, with large Individuality, and 
small Causality, will not be disposed to convict upon 
circumstantial evidence. While he, in whom Causality 
is large, will often feel that kind of proof to be irre- 
sistible. It induces to enquire why and wherefore. 
It gives the power of analysis. It appears largely de- 
veloped in the portraits and busts of Bacon, Locke, 
Franklin, Voltaire, etc. ; moderate in Pitt. It is larger 
in the English and Germans than in the French. 



31 

32. wit. 

Situated on a line with No. 31. When large, it gives 
breadth to the upper part of the forehead. Its function 
is a quick perception of such analogies, as by their 
novelty excite surprise and agreeable emotions. In 
the masks of Sterne, Shakspeare, Voltaire, etc., this 
organ is peculiarly striking. 

33. IMITATION. 

Situated on a line with No. 13. The function of this 
organ is the love of imitation, and an aptitude to prac- 
tise it ; and hence persons, who have it large, are 
qualified to become mimics, agtors, and painters. 
Large in Clara Fisher, and in Jervis. 

34. SUPERNATURALITY, OR WONDER. 

Situated between Nos. 16 and 33. The function of this 
organ is to create a belief in the presence and agency of 
supernatural beings, and it produces a tendency to be- 
lieve in inspirations. It begets a fondness for news, and 
particularly if extravagant. It produces the expres- 
sion of surprise and astonishment in ordinary dis- 
course, and a turning-up of the exterior angle of the 
eye-lashes. Such persons as have this organ large, 
do not distinguish between possibility and impossibility ; 
and this arises from the predominence of Supernaturality 
over Causality, and Conscientiousness, 



Having thus briefly described the different organs, 
their situation and powers, I shall call your attention 
to their combinations. 

Three rules have been laid down for estimating the 
influence of the difference in size, occurring in the 
organs of the same brain. 



32 

First. Every faoulty desires gratification, with a 
degree of energy, proportionate to the size of its 
organ ; and those faculties will be habitually indulged, 
the organs of which are largest in the individual. 

For example : if all the animal organs are large, and 
all the organs of the moral sentiments and intellect 
are small, the individual will be naturally prone to ani- 
mal indulgence in the highest degree. 

If, on the other hand, the organs of the moral senti- 
ments and intellect greatly predominate, the individ- 
ual will be naturally disposed to moral and intellectual 
pursuits. 

Second. Should it happen that several large animal 
organs are combined with a full development of several 
moral and intellectual organs, the rule then is, that the 
lower propensities will take their direction from the 
higher powers. 

Third. Where all the organs appear in nearly equal 
proportion to each other, so that the different powers 
are accurately balanced, the individual will exhibit 
opposite phases of character, according as the animal 
or moral and intellectual powers predominate at the 
time ; and he will pass his life in alternately sinning 
and repenting. If the individual, thus constituted, be 
brought under external influences, they will operate 
powerfully upon him, and his conduct will be greatly 
modified by them. 

Fourth. The same may be said of the counteracting 
and neutralizing influence of the individual organs on 
each other, as of that which appertains to the different 
groups. 

For example : if the organs of Combativeness and 
Destructiveness are very full, and those of Veneration 
and Conscientiousness are also very full, the latter will 
so counteract and neutralize the former, that the indi- 



33 

vidual may live all his days in quiet, and not once mani- 
fest the smallest disposition to combat or murder. Or, 
if the organ of Acquisitiveness is large, and that of 
Benevolence is also very full, the two propensities 
being thus counterpoised, there may be no especial 
desire of accumulating wealth manifested, and as little 
of the spirit of liberal giving. And all the organs 
may be so accurately balanced, that the good shall coun- 
teract the evil desires. 

It is, however, a doctrine of Phrenology, that the 
temperament of the individual exerts a strong influence 
upon the action of the different organs, and groups of 
organs; and consequently must be taken into the 
account, in judging of their activity and power, what- 
ever combinations they may exhibit. 

Before I close this lecture, I must call your attention, 
for a moment, to another of the doctrines of Phrenology, 
which should be understood, in order fully to appre- 
ciate the philosophy of the practical application of the 
science. I refer to what is called the natural language 
of the organs. 

The doctrine is, that the action of the phrenological 
organs tends to control the attitudes and movements of 
the body, as well as modify the expressions. That 
the actions of the body will be in the longitudinal di- 
rection of the organs. For example : if the action of 
Amativeness be strongly excited, and especially if the 
organ is large, the head will be thrown backward, 
because the base of the organ is situated in the lower, 
and back part of the brain ; and which is the reason, 
also, that lovers are prone to bring the back part of 
their heads in contact, when they approach each other. 

Combativeness, when strongly excited, gives a sud- 
den backward and lateral motion to the head. 

The proud man carries his head erect,because the or- 



S4 

gan of self-esteem has its termination upon the superior 
part of the brain ; while he, who is deficient in the 
development of this organ, inclines his head forward, 
in an humble attitude. 

The devout man bows his head forward, in order to 
present the organ of veneration, in the direction of the 
Deity in the Heavens. 

The logician, when he reasons strongly, is prone to 
press his forehead with his index finger,because of the 
action going on in the organ of causality, which is 
situated in the forehead. 

Preachers and advocates, when speaking with am- 
bition, move the head in the line of concentrativeness 
or individuality, or straight backward and forward. 

Secretiveness, when the organ is full, gives a side- 
long glance and a watchful look to the eye. 

The organ of self-esteem, when large in children, 
causes them to mount on chairs and benches, to make 
themselves equal in height to grown persons; and 
adults of small stature do the same, and keep their 
bodies erect, and have a proud gait. 

Those birds, which have this organ large, delight in 
soaring on the wing in lofty flight, and build their 
nests in the most elevated situations. 

The chamois and goat, which take pleasure in. 
climbing craggy and lofty cliffs, and to graze upon the 
mountain top, have the organ large. 



35 



LECTURE IL 

Gentlemen : Having, in my first lecture, exhibit- 
ed to you the leading doctrines of Phrenology, and 
explained the principles upon which it is founded, my 
object in this lecture will be to show how far the 
science is reconcilable with the anatomical structure 
and organization of the brain, the cranium, and other 
parts concerned. 

I adopt this course from two considerations : 

1st. From a belief that the anatomy of the parts 
concerned, is the proper and only standard by which 
to ascertain its truth. 

2d. That the metaphysical arguments on the 
subject, while they have been urged with great 
power, have too often been evaded, and that the public 
mind has not been enlightened, as to the real merits of 
Phrenology, by the usual methods of investigation. 
Even the lash of ridicule, under which it has general- 
ly been left to wither, has done but little in arresting 
its progress, or exposing its errors. 

The ground which phrenologists assume the 
right to occupy is so extensive, and the outlets for re- 
treat are so numerous, that it is difficult to present an 
objection to the science, which cannot, upon the com- 
mon principles of reasoning, be plausibly evaded. A 
few examples will illustrate the idea which I wish to 
convey. 

If an individual has a large head, and his mental 
manifestations are unusually powerful, the case is 
brought forward as a proof of the truth of phrenology; 
but if the manifestations are feeble, it is said that the 
great size of the head is the result of disease, or that 
the brain is not well organized, or that other circum- 
stances have exerted an influence in diminishing its 



36 

power. If a small head is connected with a powerful 
intellect, it only proves that the brain, though small, is 
well organized, and acts with uncommon energy. If 
an individual has a particular propensity strongly 
marked in his character, and there is no corresponding 
development of the brain, it is said that the organ has 
not been thrown out by indulging its desires ; but if 
there is a large development of an organ, and no cor- 
responding propensity, then it is contended that the 
germ of the propensity is there, but that it has been 
repressed by education, or other circumstances; or it is 
found that some counteracting organ is fully developed 
which neutralizes the first. For example: if the or- 
gan of Covetousness is large, and the person has no 
uncommon love of gain, and the organ of Benevolence 
is also large, it is urged that the action of the one 
neutralizes that of the other. 

I have already mentioned that the temperament also 
is supposed to perform an important part in modifying 
the action of the different organs, and for which all due 
allowance is to be made. 

When all these fail, in furnishing a satisfactory ex- 
planation, another method still more amusing is some- 
times resorted to, in relieving phrenology from embar- 
rassment. It may be illustrated by the following 
facts : 

There is a celebrated divine now living, in Scotland, 
equally distinguished for his amiable disposition, his 
gigantic powers of mind, and the great moral influence 
which he exerts upon the Christian w T orld. This in- 
dividual, it is said, has the organ of destructiveness 
very largely developed, and not having any coun- 
teracting organ very large, it is contended by 
those who are acquainted with the fact, that he 
manifests his inherent disposition to murder, by his 



37 

mighty efforts to destroy vice and break down systems 
of error. In this way he gratifies his propensity to 
shed blood. 

By a recent examination of the skull of the celebra- 
ted infidel Voltaire, it is found that he had the organ 
of veneration developed to a very extraordinary degree. 
For him it is urged, that his veneration for the Deity was 
so great, his sensibility upon the subject of devotion so 
exquisite, that he became shocked and disgusted with 
the irreverence of even the; most devout Christians, 
and that out of pure respect and veneration for the 
Deity, he attempted to exterminate the Christian reli- 
gion from the earth. 

Other explanations, as much at variance with truth 
and common sense, are resorted to in carrying out the 
system. 

Allowing, therefore, to phrenologists the latitude 
they claim, it would seem impossible to present a case 
so contradictory to their principles as not to admit of 
prompt and plausible explanation. 

It is such considerations as these that have induced 
me to attempt an examination of the principles of 
phrenology, on other than metaphysical grounds, or its 
practical application to individual cases. 

In pursuing the investigation I shall enquire : 

I. How far phrenology is sustained by the struc- 
ture and organization of the brain. 

II. How far facts justify the opinion that there 
is an established relation between the volume of the 
brain and the powers of the mind. 

III. How far it is possible to ascertain the volume 
of the brain in the living subject, by measurement or 
observation. 

IV. How far it is possible to ascertain the rela- 



38 

tive degree of development of the different parts of the 
brain, by the examination of the living head. 

V. Notice a few facts which have been used in 
support of phrenology, and conclude with some gene- 
ral remarks. 

I. How far is phrenology sustained by^the structure 
and organization of the brain ? 

The brain is that soft, plastic substance/which is 
contained in the cavity of the cranium. Its weight is 
computed to average, in the adult, aboutthree and an 
half pounds, greatly varying, however, in different 
heads, and in those of nearly the same size. It is in- 
vested by three membranes, the duramater, the tunica 
arachnoidea, and piamater. The former of these is 
thick, dense, and opake, the two latter extremely thin 
and transparent. It is divided by a horizontal mem- 
brane, the tentorium into the cerebrum and cerebel- 
lum, the latter being connected with the former by an 
aperture in the tentorium, near its centre. The cere- 
brum is divided into two hemispheres, the right and 
left, by a deep longitudinal fissure, in which the falx 
of the duramater is situated. 

Upon removing the duramater, there are exhibited 
to the eye, numerous convolutions, rendered distinct 
by grooves which separate them to a greater or less 
depth ; but these convolutions do not, in any respect, 
correspond in form, size, or position, with the bases of 
the phrenological organs as mapped out upon the 
figured skull. Phrenologists do not pretend that there 
is any relation between the one and the other. 

The brain, when divided by incision, presents two 
substances, different in color and texture, the cortical 
or pulpy portion which forms the external part, and 
is of an ash color; and the medullary or fibrous portion 



39 

which forms the central part, and is oi a beautiful 
white, and is fibrous in its structure. 

The brain is more vascular than almost any other 
part of the body. By some anatomists it has been 
computed that one-fifth, and by others !bat one-tenth, 
of all the blood of the body is dispensed to this organ ; 
while the brain in weight is seldom equal to one-fortieth 
of the whole body. It is supplied principally by the 
carotid and vertebral arteries. 

Neither the cortical or fibrous part of the brain re- 
veals, upon dissection, any of those compartments or 
organs, upon the existence of which the main fabric of 
phrenology is based. JNo such divisions have been 
discovered by the eye or the microscope. The most 
common observation is sufficient to show that there is 
not the slightest indication of such a structure. In- 
deed no phrenologist, after all the investigations which 
have been made upon the subject, from the first dawn 
of the science to the present time, not even Gall and 
Spurzheim themselves, venture to assert that such di- 
visions of the brain have been discovered. 

The fact of the existence of the horizontal mem- 
brane, called the tentorium, separating the superior 
from the inferior part of the brain, as well as the ar- 
rangement of the lateral ventricles,the corpus callosum^ 
the fornix, and other parts, clearly show the absurdity 
of the idea of organs as described by phrenologists. 
The notion then of the division of the brain into phre- 
nological organs is entirely hypothetical ; is not sus- 
tained by dissection, and is utterly inconsistent with 
its whole formation. 

These facts are perfectly well known, and are uni- 
versally admitted by all anatomists. See plates IL IV. 
VI. with the explanation. 



40 

II. How far do facts justify the opinion that there is 
an established relation between the volume of the brain 
and the powers of the mind ? 

This enquiry involves one of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of phrenology. 

" If/' says Mr. Combe, u we take two heads, in 
sound health, of similar age, in each of which several 
organs are similar in their proportions, but the one of 
which is large and the other small, and if the prepon- 
derance of power of manifestation is not in favor of 
the first, then phrenology must be abandoned as desti- 
tute of foundation." 

And here it is proper to enquire, whether in speak- 
ing of the volume of the brain, its absolute or relative 
size is to be understood. If the former, then men of 
small stature, must rank as inferior in intellectual pow- 
er, to men of large size; and phrenology has also to 
contend with the fact, that the whale, the elephant, 
and several other animals of the lower order, have a 
larger brain than man, while their intellect is inferior. 

If the relative size of the brain be intended, then it 
is necessary to know with what it is to be compared ; 
whether with the dimensions of the face, the size and 
length of the neck, with the size of the spinal marrow, 
the cerebral nerves, or with the volume of the whole 
body. Upon this point, phrenologists have not been 
explicit. 

The difficulty of instituting an accurate comparison 
of the brain with the first four of them, seems likely to 
prevent either from becoming the standard ; and the 
great variations to which the body is liable from differ- 
ent causes, losing, as it sometimes does, nearly half its 
volume, while the brain remains the same, renders this 
not a more certain criterion. Some facts, however, 
seem to have afforded the inference, that the power of 



41 

the intellect is in proportion to the volume of the brain, 
compared to that of the body ; and that just as we de- 
scend in the scale of intellectual existence, from man 
through the various tribes of animals, the brain will be 
found to be diminished in size. But the investigations 
of Haller, Wrisberg, Soemmering, Blumenbach, Cu- 
vier, and other anatomists, show this conclusion to be 
erroneous, and prove by actual experiment, that it has 
no foundation in nature. A summary of the result of 
Cuvier's investigations upon this subject, is presented 
in the following table. 

He considers the brain in man, in proportion to his 
body as one to thirty; and though it might with more 
propriety have been calculated as one to forty or fifty, 
the relative proportion between man and the lower 
animals is no less certainly ascertained. 

Man - 1.30 





MONKEYS. 




Gibbon, 




- 


- 1.48 


Saimiri, 




- 


- 1.22 


Sai, 




- 


- 1.25 


Ouistiti, 




- 


- 1.28 


Coaita, 




- 


- 1.41 


Young Malbrook, 


- 


- 1.24 


Callitriche, 




- 


- 1.41 


Mone, 




- 


- 1.44 


Mongabey, 




- 


- 1.48 




QUADRUPEDS. 





Mole, - - - - 1.36 

Dogs, different species, from 1.47 to 1.305 

Cat, - - from 1.82 to 1.156 

Beaver, - 1.290 



42 



Rat, 


- 


- 


- 


1.76 


Mouse, 


- 


- 


- 


1.43 


Field mouse, 


- 


- 


1.31 


Elephant, 


- 


- 


- 


1.500 


Sheep, 




from 1.192 


to 


1.351 


Ox, 


- 


- 


- 


1.860 


Horse, 


- 


- 


- 


1.400 




CETACEOUS ANIMALS. 






Dolphin, 




from 1.25 to 


1.102 


Porpoise, 




BIRDS. 




1.903 


Eagle, 


- 


* - 


- 


1.260 


Goose, 


- 


- 


- 


1.360 


Cock, 


- 


- 


- 


1.25 


Sparrow, 


- 


- 


- 


1.25 


Canary birds, 


- 


- 


1.14 






REPTILES. 






Land Turtle, 


- 


. 


1.2240 


Frog, 




FISHES. 




1.170 


Shark, 


- 


- 


- 


1.2496 


Carp, 


- 


- 


- 


1.560 



This table shows that four species of the monkey, 
the dolphin, and ihree kinds of birds, the canary bird, 
sparrow, and cock, exceed man in the proportion of 
the brain to the body ; and that various other animals 
are nearly on a level with him. 

Nor does the argument in favor of a regular grada- 
tion of intellect, according to the size of the brain, hold 
good, in a comparison of the lower animals with each 



43 

other ; their intellectual capacities not being in propor- 
tion of the brain to the body. This fact is shown by 
the table of Cuvier. 

The doctrine, therefore, that man owes his intellec- 
tual superiority to an excess of brain, derives no sup- 
port from his comparison with the lower animals ; nor 
does it appear, from observation, that this is the source 
of the diversity of intellectual capacity, which distin- 
guishes individuals of the human species from each 
other. 

Professor Warren, of Boston, who has probably en- 
joyed as great opportunities for dissecting the brains 
of literary and intellectual men of high grade, and of 
comparing these with the brains of men in the lower 
walks of life, as any anatomist of our country, if not of 
the age, says, as the result of his experience on this 
subject, that in some instances, it appeared that a large 
brain had been connected with superior mental pow- 
ers, and that the reverse of this was true in about an 
equal number. One individual who was most distin- 
guished for the variety and extent of his native talent, 
says Doctor Warren, had, it was ascertained after 
death, an uncommonly small brain. 

I might accumulate testimony of this description to 
an almost unlimited extent,but I will not detain you; 
and will only observe that, after a careful investigation 
of the subject, I feel authorized to say, that the expe- 
rience of eminent anatomists of all times and countries, 
who have paid attention to the subject, will be found 
in strict accordance with that of Doctor Warren. 

But, for the sake of argument, let us for the time 
concede this point, and suppose with phrenologists, 
that there is an established relation between the volume 
of the brain and the powers of the mind, and then 
enquire : 



44 

III. How far it is possible to ascertain the volume 
of the brain in the living subject, by measurement or 
observation. 

This enquiry, like the preceding, involves one of 
the fundamental principles of phrenology. 

" By a knowledge of both," (phrenology and crani- 
ology) says a distinguished writer upon this science, 
"the experienced phrenologist is enabled to judge of 
the natural amount and general character of the in- 
tellects of individuals, from an inspection of their 
heads.' 5 

And, first, by what means are we to ascertain the 
volume of the brain ? 

Phrenologists have provided two instruments for 
this purpose, viz: the craniometer and callipus. 

The former of these is the instrument principally in 
use, and by it we are told that we can not only mea- 
sure the volume of the brain, but determine also the 
size of the individual organs. 

It consists of a brass semicircle, connected at the 
extremities, with two horizontal bars, terminating in a 
small knob to be placed in the external opening of each 
ear. By this means, while the semicircle remains 
fixed at its extremities, its circumference moves freely 
backward and forward. Attached to this, is a sliding 
graduated scale,which is easily brought in contact with 
any part of the surface of the head. By this instru- 
ment, it is presumed that the exact size of the head 
can be ascertained, and as all the phrenological organs 
are supposed to commence at the medulla oblongata, 
or top of the spinal marrow, which, being nearly on a 
line with the two horizontal bars that pass into the ex- 
ternal ear, the length of each organ can be ascer- 
tained. 



45 

Now, allowing all this to be philosophical, it is evi- 
dent that in order to render this instrument availing, 
the integuments of the head and the walls of the 
cranium must be of a uniform thickness in all persons ; 
or that we must possess some means of determining 
the degree of deviation from this principle. 

In childhood, both the integuments of the head and 
the walls of the cranium are thin and delicate ; in the 
adult they are thicker, but in old age they are again 
diminished in thickness. There is also some difference 
in the two sexes ; the male, as a general rule, having 
the thicker skull. There are, however, frequent excep- 
tions to this principle. 

But besides the change which occurs at the different 
periods of life, and the difference which usually marks 
the two sexes, there is often a great diversity in the 
thickness of the integuments and the skull, in different 
persons of the same age, sex, and condition, and of 
which we have no means of judging in the living sub- 
ject. This fact I have verified by numerous dissec- 
tions. 

I here exhibit a number of drawings, made from 
skulls in my possession, which illustrate some of the 
points that I wish to establish. 

Plates II. III. V. VIII. represent sections of differ- 
ent skulls, made by passing a saw through them hori- 
zontally, about one inch above the superciliary ridge 
in the frontal, and the same distance above the crucial 
ridge in the occipital region. These delineations were 
made from nature, by an eminent artist ; are fac simi- 
les, and represent the skull precisely, in form and 
thickness. 

Plate II. represents, by a horizontal section, the skull 
of a sturdy, athletic waterman, who was drowned in 
the Potomac. It is scarcely the eighth of an inch in 



46 

thickness, though it is firm, compact, and in every re- 
spect healthy in its structure. 

Plate III. represents, by a horizontal section, the 
skull of a young and once beautiful female, who came 
to this city from a neighboring State, fell into bad com- 
pany, abandoned the paths of virtue, and died in ab- 
ject poverty. It is nearly twice the thickness of the 
former, and is well organized and healthy in its ap- 
pearance. 

Here we have two skulls from healthy individuals in 
the vigor of life, the one a male and the other a female; 
and, to render the contrast more striking, the skull of 
the female is twice the thickness of that of the male. 
Where is the phrenologist, however experienced, who 
by the delicacy of his touch, the keenness of his eye, 
and these aided by his craniometer, could have pro- 
nounced, that the sturdy waterman had a skull scarcely 
the eighth, while that of the female was at least one- 
fourth of an inch in thickness, and been able to make 
due allowance, and to ascertain the relative volume of 
the brain in each? 

Plate IV. represents, by a vertical section, a skull, 
kindly furnished me by Doctor Smith, Professor of 
Surgery in the University of Maryland. The subject 
was an adult male. It is thick and very compact, and 
well organized. 

Plate V. represents, by a horizontal section, a skull 
which has also been furnished by Professor Smith. Ii is 
that of an adult male, and averages nearly three fourths 
of an inch in thickness, and is of ordinary and healthy 
structure. 

Plate VI. represents, by a vertical section, an adult 
male skull from the cabinet of Professor Smith. It 
averages nearly one inch in thickness, and appears in 
every respect healthy and natural. 



47 

Plate VII. represents^ by a vertical section, the cast 
of a skull which is from the cabinet of Spurzheim. 
It was kindly procured and sent me by Professor 
Warren of Boston. 

The crania delineated in plates IV. VI. VII. which 
exhibit the vertical section, were prepared for the en- 
graver, by passing the saw through them perpendicu- 
larly, on one side of the median line. 

The history of the intellectual character of the indi- 
viduals whose crania are here delineated, I shall not 
detail, as the only object of introducing them is, to 
show the natural and insurmountable obstacles which 
exist in ascertaining the amount of brain by the mea- 
surement or inspection of the living head. Such a 
history would be entirely irrelevant, as it could in no 
way aid the phrenologist in his examination. 

The difference in their thickness furnishes impres- 
sive evidence of the impossibility of ascertaining the 
volume of the brain by the rules of phrenology. 

Besides the crania delineated in these plates,! have in 
my possession a large number, exhibiting every inter- 
mediate degree of thickness, from that of the sturdy 
waterman to the cast of Spurzheim. 

But in order to render this part of the investigation 
the more satisfactory and conclusive, I have instituted 
a series of experiments, to ascertain the exact amount 
of brain in the skull, compared with its external di- 
mensions. These experiments were made under the 
immediate inspection and by the assistance of Dr. 
Thomas P. Jones of this city, and Professor William 
Ruggles of the Columbian College; gentlemen whose 
high scientific character ensures the utmost accuracy 
in the results. I am much indebted to these gentle- 
men for the aid they have afforded me. In the first 
series of experiments was ascertained, the volume of 



48 

each skull ; the brain included. In the second series, 
the volume of the brain alone, or the capacity of the 
cerebral cavity. 

Then, in order to render the difference in capacity 
more obvious, the volume of each skull, the brain in- 
cluded, was reduced to the dimensions of seventy fluid 
ounces. 

This table shows the result of these experiments, as 
extended to five of the skulls delineated in the plates. 

vol. skull, br. included. vol. brain. 

PI. II 70 oz. 56.22 oz. 

III " 51.72 

IV " 46.21 

V " 34.79 
VII " 25.33 

In five skulls therefore, of the same external dimen- 
sions, we have a difference in the amount of brain be- 
tween II and III, of 4.50 oz. 
II " IV " 10.01 
II " V " 21.43 
II " VII " 31.89 
In this computation we have a difference in the 
volume of brain, contained in two skulls of the same 
external dimensions, of 31.89; something more than 
one half. These experiments have been extended to 
a great variety of crania, not here delineated ; which 
confirm the above estimate, and show that the exter- 
nal dimensions of the skull furnish no indication of the 
amount of brain. 

I hold it then to be clearly established, that no phre- 
nologist, however experienced, can, by an inspection 
of the living head, ascertain whether an individual has 
a skull of one inch, or one eighth of an inch in thick- 
ness ; nor whether he has 56.22 ounces of brain in 
volume, or only 25.33 ounces. 



49 

With the result of these experiments before you, 
gentlemen, I leave you to estimate the value of phre- 
nology as a practical science, in determining the pow- 
ers of the human intellect. 

But we will pass on to enquire : 

IV. Eow far it is practicable to ascertain the degree 
of development of the different parts of the brain, by 
measurment or examination of the living head. 

And here permit me again to call to your recollec- 
tion the fundamental doctrine already stated, " that by 
a knowledge of phrenology and craniology, the ex- 
perienced phrenologist is enabled to judge of the na- 
tural amount and general character of the intellects of 
individuals from an inspection of their heads." The 
amount of intellect being estimated by the size of the 
head, while its character is determined by the form. 

In the investigation of this part of the subject, we 
shall find that anatomy interposes numerous obstacles 
to the practical phrenologist, the more important of 
which I shall briefly notice. 

1. Of the frontal sinuses* These are cavities situa- 
ted in the anterior and lower portion of the frontal 
bone. To show the manner in which they are formed, 
it is proper to state, that the bones of the skull are com- 
posed of two tables, external and internal; and that 
these are united by an intervening lattice work of bony 
matter, called diploe. In some parts of the skull, this 
diploic structure is absent; the two tables recede from 
each other, and cavities of greater or less extent are 
thereby created. It is in this manner that the frontal 
sinuses are formed. 

Plate VIII. represents, by a horizontal section, the 
skull of an individual whom I well knew. He was 
an athletic, laboring man, who became intemperate, 



50 

and died at the age of thirty. During his Me, I fre^ 
quently remarked, that he had what would be called 
by phrenologists, a fine head. for the perceptive facul- 
ties. His eye was deeply ensconsed under a full project- 
ing brow, and the organs of Form, Size,Weight,Color, 
Order,Number,Individuality and Comparison were un- 
commonly well developed. His Locality was enormous. 
We should, upon the principles of phrenology, have 
pronounced him a Rubens in painting, a Humboldt in 
arrangement,and in Form,Size,and Weight, a Wren .a 
Douglas or a Simpson. The development of his 
Comparison and Individuality would have placed him 
by the side of Dean Swift and the Karl of Chatham; 
and his Locality represented him as quite equal to 
Columbus, Newton, Volney, and Sir Walter Scott. 

But what do we find upon an examination after 
death ? We discover the frontal sinuses to extend over 
the organs of Individuality, Form, Size, Weight, Color^ 
Locality,Order,Time,and Comparison; the two tables of 
bone, separated in some points at the distance of an 
inch, and the intervening cavities so capacious as to- 
measure one and a half fluid ounces. 

Plate VIII. shows the form, size, and situation of the 
frontal^sinuses, by a horizontal section of the skull. 

So far, then, from the great apparent development of 
these organs, being occasioned by a forward protrusion 
of the anterior lobes of the brain, the projection was 
caused by the receding of the inner from the outer 
table of the skull, in the formation of the frontal sinu- 
ses, and the brain is discovered to be actually very de- 
ficient in its anterior portion. 

I need scarcely observe, that no one presumes to dis- 
tinguish between that projection which is caused by 
the full development of the anterior lobes of the brain, 
and the existence of the frontal sinuses. 



51 

Here, then, are nine of the organs, of which no cor- 
rect judgment can be formed, as to the degree of their 
development in the living head. From the large fron- 
tal sinuses, delineated in this plate ; I have skulls in 
which they are seen of almost every intermediate size, 
to those which measure only a few grains. 

2. The temporal muscle. This is one of the prin- 
cipal muscles of mastication, and from its situation ne- 
cessarily conceals a number of the phrenological or- 
gans. It arises from the temporal ridge, which is in 
the form of an arch as it passes over the frontal, parie- 
tal, and occipital bones, and covers a large part of the 
lateral portion of the cranium. Its fibres, as they de- 
scend from its origin, converge, the muscle becoming 
thicker till it passes under the zigomatic process of the 
temporal bone, to be inserted into the coronoid process 
©f the lower jaw. This muscle is very various in 
volume, in different persons, being in some twice the 
thickness that we find it in others. It covers wholly, 
or in part, the organs of Destructiveness, Constructive- 
ness, Acquisitiveness, Secretiveness, Cautiousness, 
Ideality, Number, and Tune. Of the degree of de- 
velopment of these organs, therefore, it is evident we 
can form no correct estimate, by an examination of the 
living head. 

By means of the frontal sinuses and temporal mus- 
cle alone, therefore, we find seventeen out of the thir- 
ty-four organs beyond the reach of observation. 

3. Let us next ascertain whether the skull is in 
every part of the same thickness, and whether the 
two tables, of which it is composed, are every where 
parallel to each other. 

To say nothing of the numerous ridges and grooves 
which are exhibited upon the internal surface of the 
cranium, and which vary much in size, and somewhat 



52 

also in position, the two tables are not every where 
parallel; consequently, the skull is not of uniform 
thickness in every part, and this want of uniformity 
varies in different heads. I can show numerous ex- 
amples in which there is a marked protuberance ex- 
ternally, but no corresponding concavity within. In 
one skull, we have the organ of Philoprogenitiveness, 
very full, but it is occasioned only by an increased 
thickness of the bone at this part, In others, the organ 
of Causality is very prominent, but so far from finding 
a corresponding concavity within, the inner table pre- 
sents a plain surface; and there are frequently consi- 
derable depressions within, where the corresponding 
surface without, does not exhibit the slightest projec- 
tion. It is also true, that there are scarcely any two 
skulls which exhibit the same relative thickness in 
different parts. This is obvious from an examination 
of the accompanying plates. 

No Phrenologist, therefore, w T ho discovers a protu- 
berance on the skull, can determine whether it is caus- 
ed by a fullness of the brain, at that part, or an increas- 
ed thickness of the bone. 

4. The great number and diminutive size of the 
organs, as represented in the figured head, presents a 
serious obstacle to the phrenologist, in ascertaining 
their fullness as well as their actual position. 

In the forehead, there are no less than fourteen pairs 
of organs, huddled together in the compass of a few 
square inches ; a space scarely equal in extent to that 
appropriated to a single pair of organs,belonging to the 
department of the propensities, or that of the moral 
sentiments, and all concealed by the frontal bone. 

You have askecj.gentlernen, if the specimens of crania 
delineated in the plates,were not extreme cases; of irre- 
gular-structure, and to be regarded as exceptions to the 



53 

general rule. I have already stated, that I possess 
skulls of every intermediate- degree of thickness, from 
that of the waterman, to the cast of Spurzheim; and 
those, also, which exhibit the frontal sinuses from the 
size represented in plate VIII., to those which are 
scarcely perceptible ; and, by visiting the different 
anatomical cabinets of our country, the same variations 
will be seen in abundance. But, admit these speci- 
mens to be of irregular structure, and to form excep- 
tions to any general rules which the phrenologist may 
establish for his guide, and the admission is fatal to the 
pretensions of the practical phrenologist. The exist- 
ence of a single exception to the general rule, as to 
the thickness of the skull, and the size of the frontal 
sinuses, presents an insuperable objection to the 
science ; unless the phrenologist can point out some 
means of ascertaining, in the living subject, when such 
exceptions exist. 

How is the phrenologist to know, when measuring 
the head, whether the skull is thick or thin ; whether 
the frontal sinuses are large or small, and whether the 
protuberances which he finds on the head, represent 
corresponding developments of the brain, or are occa- 
sioned by an increased thickness of the skull, at the 
places where they exist ? 

V. I will now ask your attention to a few facts which 
bear upon this subject, together with some general 
remarks. 

1. It has already been observed, that phrenology 
makes the powers of the mind, other things being equal, 
commensurate with the volume of the brain. This is 
one of the fundamental principles upon which it is based. 

I do not deny that there is a difference in the natural 
capacities of men, some individuals being endowed with 
stronger, quicker, and clearer minds than others; but I 



54 

am far from admitting that this difference depends on the 
amount of brain, or that the development of the mind 
in the progress of life is to be determined by the in- 
creased size of the head. If we look round upon the 
intellectual world, we shall find as many men distin- 
guished for intellectual power, w T ith a head of a small 
or medium size, and as many with a large head pos- 
sessing a feeble intellect, as the reverse of these ; and 
had phrenology in its commencement received a differ- 
ent direction, and a small head, in conformity with the 
preference of Aristotle, been made the standard of per- 
fection, it would doubtless have enlisted as many zealous 
and confident advocates as are now found in its ranks. 
It is not the mere volume of the brain which determines 
the power of the human intellect. Neither facts nor 
analogy sustain the proposition. Men of the greatest 
physical power have not often the largest muscles. This 
is remarkably true of great runners, wrestlers, and 
boxers; and the same observations apply with equal 
force to brute animals. There appears to be far more 
in the organization and action of parts, than in the mere 
volume, in giving power. 

It has been admitted by a distinguished writer upon 
phrenology, that the intellect of idiots, where the volume 
of the brain has been greatly deficient, has been sur- 
prisingly improved during the continuance of an inflam- 
matory cephalic fever; and that cerebral inflammation, 
arising from mechanical injuries, has often added greatly 
to the vigor of the intellect of ordinary men. 

A son of the late Dr. Priestly, says this writer, whose 
intellect was naturally feeble, fell from the window of a 
two story house, and fractured his skull. From this 
time his intellect became greatly improved. 

An extraordinary case was recently communicated to 
the Medical Society of Ghent; that of a young man of na- 



55 

turally very limited intelligence, who lost to the amount 
of two tea-cups of brain by a pistol shot, besides consi- 
derable quantities which were discharged at several 
subsequent dressings. He lived for two years after this 
occurrence, with his intellect vastly improved. 

Accidents of the same nature, followed by similar 
consequences, are recorded of many others. 

Every one, who has observed cases of intermittent 
fever, must have been struck with the increased vigor 
and activity of the mind during the hot stage of the dis- 
ease. Men of very ordinary capacity, while under its 
influence, often rise to a degree of strength and bold- 
ness of conception, and brilliancy of expression, truly 
astonishing. When the brain is excited, whether from 
moral or physical causes, the mind often acts with vastly 
increased power, and the individual exhibits all the 
phenomena of a temporary brain fever. 

Who has listened to the debates of Congress during 
times of high political excitement, or attended the 
pleadings in the Supreme Court, and has not been im- 
pressed with the truth of this observation? I could 
detail numerous instances illustrative of this remark, 
but will state only a single case. 

The late William Pinkney, of Maryland, whose ex- 
traordinary power in debate is universally known, when 
unexcited, exhibited nothing in his appearance which 
manifested great activity or energy of mind ; but when 
roused by debate, his face became suffused with blood, 
his eye sparkling and animated, his carotids pulsated 
violently, his jugular veins became swollen, and every 
thing indicated that the blood was carried to the head 
with an impetus proportioned to the excitement of the 
occasion and his intellectual effort; and it was only 
during this cerebral orgasm, that his thoughts were 
poured forth with that fluency and power for which he 



56 

was so remarkably distinguished. The same phenome- 
na occurred, to some extent, in his private studies, 
whenever he fixed his mind intently on any one subject 
for the purpose of deep investigation. 

It was after one of these cerebral paroxyms of pro- 
tracted and powerful excitement in the Supreme Court, 
that the integrity of his brain gave way, and iatal dis- 
ease ensued. 

In his last illness he informed me, that after periods 
of high intellectual effort, he found the blood rushing 
to the head, long after the occasion which had excited 
it had gone by, and that he often found it difncult to 
compose his mind sufficiently for sleep. 

I could point you, were it proper to do so, to many 
living examples of the same description. 

In these cases, there is no augmentation in the size 
of the head ; there is no change in its form. 

It is evident, then, that there is something which 
gives power to the mind, which has no connexion 
with the volume of the brain. Whether this is to 
be found in the peculiar organization of the cerebral 
structure, the increased energy and action of its vessels, 
the quantity of arterial blood propelled to the organ 
by the heart,or to some other cause,is beyond the pre- 
sent state of anatomical and physiological knowledge to 
determine. 

I admit that there is a difference in the natu- 
ral capacities of men. I am equally clear that this 
difference is utterly insignificant, compared with what 
is impressed upon the mind by circumstances. 

The influence of climate, occupation, literature, sci- 
ence and the arts, commerce and war, civil and reli- 
gious institutions, the state of society and the modes of 
life, all exei t a powerful influence upon the human in- 
tellect; but, above all, it is the discipline of the mind 



57 

which gives it power. The intellectual, like the physical 
functions; acquire strength by use ; and he who would 
attain to eminence, must subject himself to the habit of 
long continued and close application to study ; to deep 
and systematic reflection, severe investigation, and ac- 
curate analysis. These give a vigor to the mind that 
nature never imparts. 

But were it true that there is an established relation 
between the power of the mind and the volume of the 
brain, the fact would avail the practical phrenologist? 
nothing, as he has no means of ascertaining the amount 
of brain in the living subject. 

2. You have seen that the complex character of the 
brain, as an intellectual organ, forms one of the leading 
doctrines of phrenology, and professes to rest mainly 
for its support on observation. Indeed, the discovery 
of the fact that there is a coincidence between the pro- 
tuberances on the skull and the intellectual and moral 
character of man, Dr. Gall says first led him to the 
study of the subject. 

It is no part of my purpose to disprove this coinci- 
dence. Whether there is a correspondence between the 
external form of the head and the character of the mind, 
I leave for future observations to settle. If I have es- 
tablished the fact, that a protuberance on the skull is 
no proof of a corresponding development of the brain, 
my end is accomplished ; and this, I think, has been 
clearly shown. 

The idea that the brain is composed of a plurality of 
organs, and that each has its own appropriate functions, 
has elicited every argument which could be brought to 
its support. To sustain the proposition, volumes have 
been written, experiments have been made, and the 
records of medicine and surgery have been ransacked 
in pursuit of facts. 
8 



58 

If the brain be composed of a plurality of organs, as. 
represented by the figured head, and that each is the 
seat of a separate faculty, it necessarily follows, that 
when any one of these organs is injured or destroyed, 
that its faculty must be injured or destroyed also. 

Yet in all the mutilations of the brain to which man 
has been subjected for two thousand years, it appears 
that the records of surgery do not furnish a single well 
authenticated case in which the loss of a particular fa- 
culty has happened according to the organ on which 
the injury was inflicted, while the other faculties re- 
mained unimpaired. 

We learn from the researches of Drs. Ferrier and 
Rennels, that a vast variety of cases are recorded, in 
which large portions of the brain have been actually 
destroyed, and in so many parts of the head, as to dis- 
pose of nearly all the phrenological organs in turn, and 
that not a single case has happened of such partial de- 
struction of intellect, as must have occurred if the doc- 
trine of separate organs be true ; and we can hardly 
find a surgeon who has not met with cases in his prac- 
tice, where portions of the brain have been destroyed 
by wounds, the consequences of which fully confirm 
the statement of these writers. 

In many of these cases, blindness and deafness have 
been produced, motion and sensation destroyed, and all 
the intellectual faculties suspended ; but there has not 
been a destruction of a particular faculty of the mind, 
while its other powers have remained untouched. 
How, then, can it be, after the lapse of so many ages, 
that there are no facts of this description to confirm the 
doctrines of phrenology ? Certainly, it cannot be for 
the want of an opportunity for observation. 

To say nothing of the accidents of private life, there 
is "scarcely a naval or military battle, in which cases of 



59 

injury of the phrenological organs are not met with in 
abundance; and yet the science derives no support 
from this source. 

If the theory of a plurality of cerebral organs be true, 
we might, perhaps, with some show of plausibility, by 
mechanical means as well as moral influence, agreeably 
to the proposition of Emanuel Swedenborg, endeavor 
so to modify the developments of the skull, as to pro- 
mote the growth of the good organs, and repress those 
that are evil ; and thus turn a sour into a sweet temper, 
and a knavish into an honest disposition. Upon this 
principle, we might make our heroes and statesmen, 
our philosophers and divines, our poets and painters, 
and all of the highest order. 

For aught we know, the brain is a unit, and the 
whole organ is concerned in each and every operation 
of the mind. 

That the different faculties of the mind are modified 
by occupation, is universally known and admitted. 

The individual, who exclusively cultivates his me- 
mory, acquires a facility of retaining facts to an extent 
inconceivable to those who neglect this faculty ; and 
such persons often make vast attainments in knowledge 
without the power of arranging or applying it to prac- 
tice; while the metaphysician, who principally exercises 
his understanding, arrives at a power of analysis, and 
of distinguishing cause and effect, known only to those 
who accustom themselves to long and deep thinking. 
He, who cherishes his fancy to the neglect of his judg- 
ment, acquires an exquisiteness of feeling and refine- 
ment which often disqualifies him for the more rigorous 
exercises of the mind. The will unbridled, acquires 
strength, until it gains an omnipotent control over that 
man who habitually yields to its dominion. 



60 

3. An argument frequently urged in the support of 
phrenology, is the success with which its principles 
have been applied to practice in distinguishing charac- 
ter. Dr. Gall himself, we are told, subjected his the- 
ory to the most rigid scrutiny, with triumphant success ; 
that on several occasions he was enabled to ascertain, 
by the developments of the head, the precise crime for 
which multitudes had been convicted and sent to prison. 

To expose the absurdity of this argument it is only 
necessary to bring to view the fact, that men of the same 
natural propensities, perpetrate different crimes, when 
placed under different circumstances ; and that indivi- 
duals of different, and even opposite tendencies, com- 
mit the same crimes when placed under circumstances 
which are similar ; nay, that men often perpetrate 
crimes to which they have no natural propensity, but a 
deep abhorrence, when strongly operated on by exter- 
nal influences. 

One man commits murder wantonly, and apparently 
from the natural cruelty of his disposition ; another, 
that he may inherit a post of honor, or possess himself 
of fortune ; and a third, to conceal another crime which 
he has already perpetrated. 

One individual steals from the mere motive of acqui- 
sition ; another, that he may possess the means to gra- 
tify his sensual desires, or foster his pride or ambition ; 
while a third is impelled to the crime from extreme 
poverty. 

The history of man in every country and age, will 
show, that nine-tenths of all the outrages committed are 
the consequence of defective education, bad example, 
vicious company, or other circumstances which attend 
the offender, rather than any inherent propensity to the 
crime perpetrated. 



61 

How preposterous, then, to look to the developments 
of the head as the measure of a man's virtues and vices, 
or even to regard his known propensities and disposi- 
tions as the true index to the history of his life. 

Can any one who reflects upon the various circum- 
stances of human life, the incidents which often control 
man's destinies, the temptations which assail him in dif- 
ferent situations, believe, that of the four hundred and 
seventy culprits examined by Dr. Gall at the fortress 
of Spandau, upon which so much stress has been laid, 
each was convicted of the precise crime for which he 
had the strongest propensity by nature ? As well may 
we suppose that every one dies of the disease to which 
he has the strongest natural predisposition ; that be- 
cause a man is predisposed to apoplexy, he cannot die 
of fever, be buried in the ocean, or be struck down by 
the lightning of heaven. 

4. Again, it is said, if phrenology is destitute of 
foundation, why is it that it has become a study of so 
much interest in the circles of literary and scientific 
men? A moment's attention to the subject will enable 
us to answer the inquiry. 

Phrenology, if it did not originate with, was early 
espoused by zealous and distinguished advocates. Gall 
and Spurzheim were both men of genius and of letters, 
and the latter especially has shown himself to be a man 
of extraordinary zeal and perseverance; an eloquent 
writer, an untiring investigator, and possessed of ex- 
tensive literary acquirements ; and whatever may be 
thought of his phrenology, it is not denied, that his in- 
vestigations of the nervous system have contributed 
something to physiological science ; and more espe- 
cially, that they have excited a spirit of inquiry in others 
which has led to important results. We still have liv- 
ing advocates of phrenology who justly rank among the 



62 

most eloquent writers of the age. Mr. Combe, of 
Edinburgh, is scarcely surpassed for the beauty of his 
etyle, his command of facts, the richness and facility of 
his illustrations, as well as for philosophical observation. 
Nor is our own country destitute of men of ability and 
high literary attainments, who give all their influence 
to the support of phrenology. 

These writers have intermingled with their doctrines 
so much of philosophy and truth, have introduced so 
many novel facts and illustrations, and have exhibited 
the whole subject in such an aspect, as to render the 
study exceedingly captivating. 

But, beyond all this, there is another, and deeper 
principle, which disposes men to the study and belief 
of phrenology. 

From the earliest history of man, he has ever been 
seeking after something which would solve all difficul- 
ties, reveal all secrets ; and something, too, which sa- 
vors of mystery or of miracle. Something to super- 
sede tedious observation, and laborious research ; and 
if this principle of his nature has not always been man- 
ifested in a pursuit of the philosopher's stone, or ani- 
mal magnetism, it has shown itself in projects equally 
unattainable and futile. 

It is true, also, that the study of the human mind, 
and the development of human character, have ever 
been favorite objects of attention. But upon the com- 
mon principles of investigation, judging of men by 
their actions,his progress is slow, and the result doubt- 
ful. To avoid this delay and uncertainty, men have 
been impatient to discern some broad principle, some 
external sign, by which to judge of the character of the 
mind, and reveal the hidden emotions of the soul. — 
Every age has afforded proofs of the justness of these 
remarks. The speculations of Aristotle, Albert the 



63 

great, Montagnana, and Dolci, all evince this propensi- 
ty, and seem only to be premonitory of the present 
system of phrenology. 

At one time, we find a Porta attempting to ascertain 
the character of men by discovering in them resem- 
blances to certain animals of the lower order. At an- 
other period, the physiognomy of Lavater becomes the 
universal guide. Next, the facial angle of Camper is 
made the measure of the human intellect. These have 
all been put forth, under the most confident assurances 
of their truth, and the sanction of great names. Each 
has flourished for a time ; has been tested by expe- 
rience and observation, and been abandoned. Phren- 
ology has taken their place. Whether this, also, is 
destined to the same end, remains to be seen. 

Is it strange, then, when we are told that a science 
has been discovered, by which the character and capa- 
cities of the human mind can be ascertained ; the se- 
crets of the heart disclosed, and this, too, by a momen- 
tary examination of the exterior of the head, that we 
should find men who will study and advocate its doc- 
trines ? 

In concluding my remarks, gentlemen, upon phren- 
ology, a subject which has withdrawn, I fear, the at- 
tention of many able minds from far nobler objects, al- 
low me to suggest some considerations in relation to 
your future pursuits, and the duties which you owe to 
yourselves, and to the world. 

You will soon be called to exchange the quiet scenes 
which now surround you, for the more public theatre of 
life, and to unite with your present intellectual pursuits 
the arduous, practical duties of society. High and 
honorable is the trust to be confided to you, and it will 
doubtless be assumed with a suitable sense of your re- 
sponsibility, as well as with a steadfast resolution, that 



64 

no reasonable expectations on the part of your friends, 
or the community, shall be disappointed. 

If there are some things in prospect which cause you 
to tremble, there are many also that meet the eye, cal- 
culated to cheer you, and to suggest, at the same time, 
the nature of those objects which more especially de- 
mand your attention. 

Providence has assigned your sphere of action in a 
country boundless in extent and inexhaustible in its re- 
sources ; blessed with a free constitution and with civil 
and social institutions, calculated to encourage the bold- 
est enterprises, and to ensure to your exertions the 
highest rewards ; a country unparalleled for the free 
unembarrassed facilities of applying moral, physical 
and intellectual power to the great purposes of life. 
The field which lies before you is vast in the number, 
as well as the magnitude of its objects, and is constantly 
enlarging from the discovery of new sources of wealth 
and of labor in every portion of our land. 

If we turn our eyes to the Atlantic coast, we behold, 
disembarking from ships which throng our harbors, a 
countless multitude of adventurers from every clime, 
the tide of foreign emigration rolling in like a flood, 
and the cities of the seaboard crowded with population 
and loaded with wealth. If we turn to the great West, 
but recently the hunting ground of the savage, we see 
the noblest and richest valley in the world, its forests 
falling before the hardy pioneer, and towns and villages 
rising as by the touch of enchantment. And turn 
where we may, we see the demand for moral and intel- 
lectual effort keeping an even pace with the footsteps 
of enterprise. 

The period, too, in which you are called to active 
life, is unprecedented for the rapid advancement of so- 
ciety in great practical improvements. In a few years 



65 

you may live through more events of interest, than 
whole generations which have preceded you. In our 
day, from the influence of moral and physical causes 
which are in operation, the well directed energies of 
one enterprising spirit will accomplish more than the 
combined exertion of multitudes in a former age. But 
it is not as champions of some brilliant theory, which 
attracts attention because of its mysterious and extra- 
vagant character, by which you can become useful, and 
acquire a desirable reputation. It is practical talent 
which is in requisition throughout our whole country, 
and this supported by decision, energy, and action \ 
and it is by your own exertions that a renovating power 
is to go forth. Endeavor, then, to cultivate a deep 
sense of your personal responsibility, and realize that 
you are accountable for every hour of time, for every 
impression you make, for every sentiment you advance. 
Never had any people higher destinies than ours to 
fulfil, or less excuse for pursuing shadows or indulging 
in airy speculations. 

In determining the objects of your pursuit, let me 
admonish you, that the period of human life is so short, 
the objects to which it can be directed to purpose so 
few, and those which invite your attention so numer- 
ous, that a judicious selection and limitation of them is*, 
indispensable to eminent success. 

Men are too liable to be engrossed by the novelties 
of the day, and to be led away by those subjects which 
serve only to amuse, not to instruct the mind. How 
many great minds, capable of the highest effort, have 
dissipated their powers by the multiplicity and uncer- 
tainty of their pursuits ! Do not weaken your minds 
by feebly grasping at every thing ; and while you limit 
the objects of your attention, be sure that those you aim 
at are within the reach of attainment; and that tthey 



are such ? too, as will render you useful, as well as dis- 
tinguished, members of society. 

Let me not be understood to discountenance, or un- 
dervalue, that sublime science, the philosophy of the 
human mind. Nothing will contribute more to give 
you a commanding influence,and to render circumstan- 
ces subservient to your purpose, than a deep knowledge 
of the human character. Some men of great talents, 
and of high scientific attainments, have utterly failed of 
success in practical life, from an ignorance of men, and 
an inability to adapt their knowledge to the circum- 
stances in which they have been placed. But this 
knowledge is not to be sought in the study of man's 
physical organization, any more than the value or bril- 
liancy of a jewel in the form of the box which contains 
it. There is no short way to the philosophy of the 
human mind. Man must be studied as he ever has 
been, and that, too, with the most eminent success, by 
close and accurate observation, and an actual mingling 
with mankind in the various stages and conditions of 
life. In the language of Napoleon, that great practical 
philosopher, whose knowledge of human nature was 
one of his most wonderful attainments, I would say — 
" Nature does not reveal her secrets by external forms. 
She hides and does not expose her secrets. To pre- 
tend to seize or penetrate human character by so slight 
an index,' 5 (as the developments of the head) "is the 
part of a dupe or an impostor. The only way of 
knowing our fellow creatures, is to see them, to haunt 
them, to submit them to proof. We must study them 
long if we wish not to be mistaken ; we must judge of 
them by their actions. This is my opinion, and this 
has long been my guide." 

Beware, gentlemen, of that delusive science, which 
pretends to detect and mark the countless varieties of 



67 

human character, and gauge and measure the capaci- 
ties of the human soul, by a graduated scale of brass ; 
a science which finds an apology for the vices and fol- 
lies of mankind, in the forms bestowed upon them by a 
good and all-wise Creator. 

Let me caution you, also, to distrust its application to 
yourselves, as well as to others, and not to rely on any 
native endowments, you may thereby be induced to 
attribute to yourselves, for the stations you may aspire 
to in life. What rank you shall hold among intellec- 
tual men, depends on your own exertions. The mind, 
not less than the body, is susceptible of inconceivable 
improvement from the culture it receives. It is atten- 
tion fixed on proper objects of pursuit ; perseverance 
that never wavers from its purpose ; application, steady 
and constant ; and not the prominences of the cra- 
nium, that constitute the most striking differences 
among men, and which will enable each of you, not 
only to attain, but to deserve the highest distinctions and 
rewards. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES, 



PL I. 

Exhibits the name, form, size, and position of the phreno- 
logical organs, as represented on the figured head of Mr. 
Combe. It also shows the form and application of the cra- 
niometer. 

PL II. 

Shows, by a horizontal section, the thickness of the skull 
of an adult male, a robust waterman. It also exhibits a ho- 
rizontal section of the brain. Fig. 1, the forepart of the 
skull. Fig. 2, the thickness of the skull. Fig. 3, the 
fissure in which the falx of the duramater is situated, which 
divides the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Fig. 4, 
the falx of the duramater turned back. Fig. 5, the cortical 
or pulpy part of the brain. Fig. 6, the medullary or fibrous 
portion of the brain. Fig. 7, the grooves which separate 
the convolutions of the brain. Fig. 8, the corpus callosum, 
or great commissure of the brain. 

PL III. 

Shows, by a horizontal section, the skull of a delicate fe- 
male, aged about 25. Fig. 1, the forepart of the skull. Fig. 
2, the thickness of the skull. 

PL IV. 

Shows, by a vertical section, the skull of an adult male, 



70 

and was furnished me by N. R. Smith, M. D , Professor of 
Surgery in the University of Maryland. Fig. 1, the thick- 
ness of the skull. Fig. 2, the frontal sinuses. Fig. 3, the 
convolutions of the brain. Fig. 4, the grooves which sepa- 
rate the convolutions of the bram. Fig. 5, the cerebellum. 
Fig. 6, the tentorium, or horizontal membrane, which sepa- 
rates the cerebrum from the cerebellum. Fig. 7, the medulla 
oblongata. Fig. 8, the spinal marrow. 

PL V. 

Shows, by a horizontal section, the skull of an adult male, 
and is also from the cabinet of Professor Smith. Fig. 1, the 
forepart of the skull. Fig. 2, the thickness of the skull. 

PL VI. 

Shows, by a vertical section, the skull of an adult male, 
from the cabinet of Professor Smith. It also shows the brain 
invested by the duramater. Fig. 1, the thickness of the 
skull. Fig. 2, the brain invested by the duramater. Fig. 
3, the lateral sinus. Fig. 4, the cerebellum, invested by 
the duramater. Fig. 5, the middle artery of the dura- 
mater. 

PL VII. 

Shows, by a vertical seetion, the thickness of a skull, the 
cast of which is from the cabinet of Spurzheim, and was 
procured and sent me by J. C. Warren, M. D., Professor of 
Anatomy and Surgery in Harvard University. Fig. 1, the 
thickness of the skull. Fig. 2, grooves in the skull, show- 
ing the poskion of the middle artery of the duramater. 

PL VIII. 

Shows, by a horizontal section, the skull of an adult 
male, aged 30. Fig. 1, the thickness of the skull. Fig. 2, 
the frontal sinuses. Fig. 3, the zigomatic process, under 
which the temporal muscle passes to the lower jaw. 



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